Antibiotics

News about Antibiotics, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jun. 17, 2015

Large study published in JAMA finds that prescribing antibiotics to treat appendicitis is safe alternative to appendectomy; findings raise questions about routine use of surgery to address condition; study excluded complicated cases of appendicitis, and some doctors suggest that surgery should not be abandoned as it is very safe and reliable. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

Obama administration hosts meeting at White House with representatives from hospitals, food producers, restaurant chains and medical societies about problem of antibiotic resistance; secures pledges to reduce use of antibiotics in food; meeting is part of administration's effort to curb overuse of antibiotics. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

Foster Farms, in compliance with new policy, will discontinue use of antibiotics in its poultry that are also administered to humans. MORE

May. 26, 2015

United Nations member states agree to World Health Organization plan for addressing problem of antibiotic-resistant superbugs; plan emphasizes development of new antibiotics, surveillance of resistance and better control of existing drugs. MORE

May. 25, 2015

Hospitals have reported drastic increases in severe cases of C. difficile, but new treatments offer hope. MORE

May. 23, 2015

Walmart issues voluntary guidelines asking its meat, seafood, poultry, deli and egg suppliers to comply with animal welfare standards, and report use of and limit treatments with antibiotics. MORE

May. 20, 2015

Food and Drug Admin issues rule requiring drug makers who service livestock to report detailed information about antibiotics sales by animal types, part of effort to address antibiotic resistance problem. MORE

May. 19, 2015

Five small studies from European researchers indicate that antibiotics can cure patients with appendicitis, with up to 70 percent of patients who take medication not requiring surgery; patients who do ultimately have the surgery after trying antibiotics do not encounter any more serious complications than those having surgery immediately. MORE

Apr. 29, 2015

Tyson Foods plans to eliminate use of human antibiotics from chicken production by 2017; move follows increased regulatory scrutiny and announcement by McDonalds that it would eliminate such antibiotics from its supply chains. MORE

Apr. 7, 2015

Studies published in journals The Lancet and Lancet Global Health find that giving oral antibiotics to newborns in danger of contracting pneumonia, sepsis or meningitis could save lives of 630,000 infants worldwide each year; protocol is easier to follow than previous World Health Organization recommendation of injected antibiotics. MORE

Mar. 28, 2015

Mar. 5, 2015

McDonald's announces it will stop using chickens raised with antibiotics designed for humans in its products; company's position as one of largest buyers of chicken in United States makes decision likely to affect how poultry is raised in country and on types of chicken served by restaurants. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

Op-Ed article by Dr Victoria Dooley warns of widespread consequences of people mistakenly claiming or believing that they are allergic to certain antibiotics, particularly with rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Op-Ed article by oncologist Ezekiel J Emanuel calls for new approach to developing antibiotics in light of proliferation of antibiotic-immune strains of bacteria; suggests awarding large monetary prizes to companies that develop new classes of Food and Drug Administration-approved antibiotics as one way to spur pharmaceutical companies to invest in their development. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Researchers in journal Nature report that method of extracting drugs from bacteria living in dirt has created strong new antibiotic; new drug teixobactin easily cures infections with no side effects and has potential to enable many natural compounds to battle infections and cancer; human testing is about two years away. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Science Q&A elucidates reason it is necessary to take all antibiotics prescribed by doctor rather than stopping when symptoms are gone. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Number of infants born in India with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections continues to rise at alarming rates; more than 58,000 such infant deaths occurred in 2013 alone; many researchers say evidence is overwhelming that significant share of bacteria present in India are immune to nearly all antibiotics, expressing worry that so-called superbugs could have global implications. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

The phenomenon of “decision fatigue” has been found in judges, who are more likely to deny parole at the end of the day than at the beginning. Now researchers have found a parallel effect in physicians. MORE

Oct. 3, 2014

Food and Drug Administration, in annual report, says amount of medically important antibiotics sold for use in animals raised for meat grew by 16 percent from 2009 to 2012, a pattern it says is troubling. MORE

Sep. 30, 2014

Editorial welcomes measures introduced by Obama administration that would help reduce overuse of antibiotics in both humans and livestock, citing increasing number of deaths and costly illnesses from antibiotic-resistant germs; warns that up to half of all antibiotics prescribed for Americans are not needed or are improperly prescribed. MORE

Sep. 19, 2014

Obama administration announces measures to tackle growing threat of antibiotic resistance; outlines national strategy that includes incentives for development of new drugs, tighter stewardship of existing ones, and improvements in tracking use of antibiotics and microbes that are resistant to them. MORE

Sep. 4, 2014

Perdue says it will no longer use antibiotics in its hatcheries, latest step company has taken to address concerns about how animal husbandry practices have contributed to antibiotic resistance. MORE

Aug. 16, 2014

Letter from New York Rep Louise Slaughter responds to July 31 Ruth Reichl Op-Ed and August 6 letters about agriculture's contribution to antibiotic-resistance crisis. MORE

Jul. 31, 2014

Op-Ed article by food writer Ruth Reichl decries federal appeals court ruling allowing Food and Drug Administration to leave antibiotic used in animal feed on market even if it is dangerous to humans; warns that practice breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria and notes that some mainstream food suppliers have already moved away from such antibiotics, urging entire industry to join them. MORE

Jul. 23, 2014

Eduardo Porter Economic Scene column; pharmaceutical industry seems uninterested in developing drugs to combat potential disaster, even as World Health Organization warns of possible 'post-antibiotic era' and antibiotic-resistant infections sicken more than two million Americans each year; economics of drug development seem counter to securing highest levels of public health. MORE

Jun. 21, 2014

Food and Drug Administration approves new antibiotic from Cubist Pharmaceuticals to treat common skin infections often acquired in hospitals. MORE

Jun. 5, 2014

Duke University researchers, in study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, say single infusion of antibiotic oritavancin can clear serious bacterial skin infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, just as effectively as 10-day regimen now used to treat patients. MORE

May. 16, 2014

Donald G. McNeil Jr. responds to reader questions about new recommendations to prevent H.I.V. infection with daily doses of the drug Truvada. MORE

May. 11, 2014

Editorial warns of grave threat presented by antibiotic-resistant germs around world, citing landmark survey by the World Health Organization; holds that most urgent need is to curb overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, adding that pharmaceutical industry must be encouraged to develop new drugs to supplement those that are losing their effectiveness. MORE

Mar. 29, 2014

Editorial applauds efforts by Food and Drug Administration to get voluntary cooperation of drug companies to curb overuse of antibiotics in animal feed; holds endeavor is off to good start, with 25 of 26 manufacturers agreeing to modify their labels to block such usage; urges continued oversight by FDA to monitor companies' compliance and resulting declines in antibiotic use and resistance. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Food and Drug Administration announces that nearly all drug companies that make antibiotics for use in animal feed have agreed to its proposal to phase out the use of drugs that make animals grow faster; 25 of 26 such companies will remove words 'growth-promotion' from their labels. MORE

Mar. 9, 2014

Op-Ed article by Pagan Kennedy traces link between widespread use of antibiotics in America and increase in obesity rates; notes that scientists have found evidence that suggests that antibiotic usage may alter the humans' microbiomes, which in turn could be related to heavier population and rise in obesity. MORE

Feb. 12, 2014

Restaurant chain Chick-fil-A announces that within five years it will no longer sell products containing meat from chickens raised with antibiotics; company also says that consumer demand prompted the change, and that it did not know whether antibiotic-free chicken will cost consumers more. MORE

Jan. 28, 2014

Food and Drug Administration analysis of 30 antibiotics used in animal feed finds that majority of them are likely contributing to bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment in people. MORE

Dec. 22, 2013

Editorial praises Food and Drug Administration for finally asking drug companies to remove statements indicating that antibiotics can be used to promote growth in livestock; warns that the FDA's new policy does not go far enough, and calls on the agency to limit antibiotic use to treating sick animals or in special circumstances where a healthy animal is likely to become sick. MORE

Dec. 12, 2013

Food and Drug Administration establishes major new policy to phase out the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in cows, pigs and chickens raised for meat; experts say practice has endangered human health by fueling the growing epidemic of antibiotic resistance; change will effectively make it illegal for farmers and ranchers to use antibiotics to make animals grow bigger. MORE

Sep. 24, 2013

Sep. 18, 2013

Editorial highlights warning issued by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the 'potentially catastrophic consequences' unless prompt action is taken to address antibiotic-resistant bacteria; notes that CDC report blames overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture. MORE

Sep. 17, 2013

Study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that at least two million Americans fall ill from antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year and that at least 23,000 die from those infections, putting a hard number on a growing public health threat. MORE

Sep. 9, 2013

Though one in 10 Americans avoids the antibiotic, a majority of them have no serious allergy and doctors lack the time to dispel their misunderstanding. MORE

Aug. 20, 2013

Study in journal Lancet Infectious Disease shows that daily dose of isoniazid, a generic antibiotic, can often fend off lethal bouts of tuberculosis in people with HIV. MORE

Jul. 30, 2013

Scientific community broadly agrees that overuse of antibiotics is causing growing resistance to drugs, and many scientists say their heavy use on animals on industrial farms is major culprit; Prof Lance Price, microbiologist, is sequencing DNA of bacteria found in grocery meat in Arizona as well as that in surrounding human population in effort to quantify how extensively drug-resistant bugs in animals are infecting people. MORE

Jun. 3, 2013

Government officials, drug companies and medical experts are pushing to speed up approval of new antibiotics due to threat of outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant superbugs; critics of speeding up approval process warn of safety concerns. MORE

Apr. 21, 2013

Maggie Koerth-Baker Eureka column reflects that as antibiotic resistance spreads, scientists are looking to the past for new ways to fight bacteria. MORE

Mar. 28, 2013

Op-Ed article by David A Kessler, commissioner of Food and Drug Administration from 1990 to 1997, warns that FDA knows little about antibiotics that are being fed to livestock; calls on lawmakers to pass measure that will require food producers to disclose how often they feed antibiotics to animals at low levels. MORE

Mar. 13, 2013

Food and Drug Administration toughens its warning about potential risks of popular antibiotic Azithromycin, saying it can cause changes in heart's electrical activity that may lead to fatal irregular heart rhythm in some patients. MORE

Mar. 6, 2013

Report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that deadly infections with bacteria that resist even the strongest antibiotics are on the rise in United States hospitals, with only a limited window of opportunity to halt their spread into community at large. MORE

Mar. 1, 2013

Editorial cites study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finding that unchecked antibiotic use in Chinese livestock farming has led to antibiotic-resistant genes in bacteria; warns using antibiotics to promote growth, rather than in treating sickness, poses a worldwide human health risk. MORE